Method and apparatus for synchronizing strip feeding and fabricating movements



Nov. 8, 1938. E. H. HALL METHOD AND APPARATUS FOR smcnnomzme STRIP I FEEDING AND FABRICATING MOVEMENTS Filed Oct.

2 Sheets-Sheet l w ling/422,476.

Nov. 8, 1938. E. H. HALL 2,136,210

METHOD AND APPARATUS FOR SYNCHRONIZING STRIP FEEDING AND FABR TING MOVEMENTS Filed 2, 1957 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 ,3 I LLz E i Z; g Z6 16 551- ,0 01mm i zZZ Patented Nov. 8, 1938 UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE METHOD APPARATUS FOR SYNCHRO- 'NIZING STRIP FEEDING AND FABRICAT- ING MOVEMENTS Edward 11. Hall, Chicago, In.

Application October 2, 1937, Serial No. ease: 6 Claims. (Cl. 164-87) The mechanism of the present invention is severing said materials into sections, or for redesigned to act upon stock in the form of a currently acting upon a continuously advancband or strip which is fed through a press or ing strip for the purpose of otherwise condithe like at a constant speed and without intertioning it.

ruption in its rate oi advance during the in- For purposes 01 illustration, such mechanisms stant that the punch and die or other forming are shown as constituents of a walking punch tool are in operation, thereby providing means and die, which comprises a vertically elongated for recurrently cutting, punching, or otherwise 'frame 10 carrying at its upper end a shaft ll acting upon the stock at uniform intervals and operated by means of a drive wheel l2 and hav- 0 at each cycle of operation. ing at its inner end an offset crank pin 13 which 10 In attaining the above results, the male' and journals a plunger ll having in the form shown female members of the associated group are a male die member or punch IS. The male die mounted to oscillate in unison upon a common member coacts with a female die member It in center which at the operating point affords an the form of a hardened block provided with an 15 arcuate line of movement approximating the inverted conical bore I! which registers with a' 15 movement of the stock, and this united oscillalongitudinal discharge duct or passage l8 tory movement of the operating elements is formed through the center of an oscillating arm combined with a reciprocatory movement of the i9 and discharging laterally therefrom through elements in relation to one another, so that the an orifice 20.

forming or dieing operation will be performed The oscillating arm terminates in a journal 20 while the operating elements are advancing with head 2i mounted upon a journal pin 22 carthe stock itsel!,-which avoids the necessity for ried between standards 23 upstanding from a intermittent feeding and thereby greatly simbase plate 24 rigidly secured to a platform 25 plifles the construction of the machine as a outstanding from the forward side of the frame 25 whole and enables it to operate at a rapid rate ID at a convenient level above the base thereof. 25 of speed. The. lower end of the plunger 14 and the Furthermore, by providing an oscillatory upper end o the Oscillating arm and in mounting for the forming or dieing elements, aligned relation to one another, and the major and by oscillating both of these elements upon axis of these two ali ed mbers intersects a common center, the structure of the machine the axis of movement of the oscillating arm i9. 30 is greatly improved, and the accuracy of its op- The plunger is reciprocally guided within a eration is insured. sleeve 26 which, as shown, is rigidly secured Further objects and details will appear from upon the oscillating arm I! by means of a set a description of the invention in conjunction screw 21. Near the upper end, the sleeve is Figure 1 is a perspective view of a die press fords a suitable bearing for the reciprocations involving the features of the present invention; of the plunger.

Figures 2, 3 and 4 are sectional elevations of As shown, the oscillating arm i9 is provided the die press and mountings therefor, showing at its upper end with a guide plate 29 which is 49 difl'erent positions in the cycle of operations; secured in position by screws 30 entered into the 40 and end of the oscillating arm. The plate 29 is Figures 5 and 6 are similar views taken at provided with a center aperture 3| which afright angles to the sections of Figs. 2, 3 and 4, fords a clearance for the male die member or respectively, showing the die members in sepapunch, and said aperture terminates in a transrated relation and in closed relation. verse groove 32 which affords a guide slot 43 The mechanisms which particularly form the through which the strip of material is fed at a subject matter of the present invention are uniform rate of speed by any suitable and concapable of use in connection with cutting, dievenient means not shown. ing, punching, embossing, or forming machines It will be understood, of course, that the parof various types of construction, which may be ticular male and female die members above de- 50 employed either for punching holes at recurscribed are shown merely for the, purpose of ilrent intervals in a continuously fed strip of lustration, and that in lieu thereof other coacting material, or for pressing, or embossing, or remembers, such as cutters, embossing dies, forming forming, or otherwise acting upon said material tools, or other elements designed to act upon the at recurrent intervals, or for wholly or partially strip, may be substituted, which are intended to 55 with the accompanying drawings, wherein,- provided with a lubricating ring 28 which af- 35- cut, deform, or otherwise modify the strip of metal or other material in the intended manner.

In operation, with the parts fitted and adjusted in the manner shown, a strip of material x is fed continuously through aligned apertures 33 in the sleeve 26 and through the groove 32 in the plate 29, which brings the strip into register with the operating elements provided to act upon it at recurrent intervals.

With the shaft ll rotating at uniform speed, the plunger I will be reciprocated with relation to the oscillating arm [9, and since the plunger is guided within the sleeve 26, which sleeve in turn is carried by the pivoted arm [9, it necessarily follows that both the plunger and the-arm will partake of the oscillatory movement occasioned by the revolutions of the eccentric crank pin l3, while at the same time maintaining a straight line reciprocatory relation to one another.

The parts are so fitted that the male element of the group will coact with the female element during each downward thrust of the plunger and be withdrawn therefrom during each upward or return movement of the plunger, so that on the acting stroke and at the instant of contact of the operating members with the strip, they will be advancing through an arcuate path which approximates the straight line movement of the strip, so that the operating elements, at the instant of contact with the strip, and while punching or deforming the same, will substantially partake of the feeding movement thereof. This permits the strip to advance continuously and at the same time permits the dies or tools to punch through or otherwise act upon the strip without interference by reason of appreciable divergence in the direction of movement of the parts.

The machine is intended primarily to act upon strips of material of a more or less flexible nature, so that the strips, in passing through the guide apertures in the oscillating sleeve, and through the groove or channel 32 in the oscillating arm l9, may ordinarily yield or flex slightly to accommodate the oscillatory movements, and it is desired to provide sufficient clearance to prevent binding or cramping of the. material during its passage through the machine, though it is obvious that, where conditions require, the material itself may be guided through a slightly curvilinear path exactly coincident with the arc of movement of apertures through which the material is guided.

For most purposes, it suflices to provide for the oscillation of the parts on a radius'of suflicient length to approximate the straight line feeding movement ordinarily imparted to flexible strips of material, and with the parts thus actuated, suflicient precision and uniformity in operation will be secured to meet ordinary requirements.

The main feature of the invention resides in the provision made for so mounting both the die elements that they will oscillate upon a single center while providing for the relative reciprocation of the dying or forming elements with respect to one another.

Of course, the spacing of the punches or deformations formed in the strip of material will depend upon the feeding speed of the material in relation to the speed of operation of the die members, and in all cases the parts will be so proportioned and arranged that the impact will occur at the instant while the forward component of oscillatory movement is at a maximum and substantially uniform with the speed of advance of the material itself. After the instant of impact, the die or punch members will withdraw from one another, which will permit the necessary return oscillation of the parts in opposition to the direction of the feeding movement, which completes the cycle of operatic ns.

The device is extremely simple and rugged in construction and in .its functioning, since it utilizes the crank movement both for the purpose of providing the reciprocations necessary in the coaction of the male and female members, and at the same time affords the advancing movement necessary to synchronize and coordinate the operating parts with the continuous advance of the material at the instant of impact. The oscillating movements being thus centered upon a single center, there is no possibility of any maladjustment in the timing of the reciprocatory movements of the individual die members with their oscillatory movements in unison, so that accuracy of adjustment and precision in operation will be attained.

Although the invention has been described with particularity as to detail, it will be understood that the mechanism above described serves merely by way of exemplification of the principles of operation, and that numerous modifications indetaiLmay be made without departing from the spirit of the invention.

I claim:

1. In mechanism of the class described for recurrently acting upon a continuously advancing strip of material, the combination of a pair of forming elements and separate mountings for each of said elements, one of said mountings being adapted to'impart oscillatory movements to its element upon a single center, means slidably connecting said formi elements, and means on the other mounting for imparting reciprocatory movements to its forming element concurrently with the oscillation of both of said elements, to bring the forming elements into coacting relation during the oscillatory advance of both of said elements in the direction of the feeding movement of the strip.

2. In mechanism of the class described for recurrently'acting upon a continuously advancing strip of material, the combination of forming elements, means for guiding one of said forming elements to cause the same to reciprocate with relation to the other forming element, means for mounting one of said forming elements in position to oscillate upon a single fixed center concurrently with the reciprocation of the other forming element, and means for mounting and imparting synchronized reciprocating movements to the said other forming element and concurrently oscillating both of said elements in unison and ina direction approximating the direction of movement of the strip of material at the instant of impact of the forming elements.

3. In mechanism of the class described for recurrently acting upon a continuously advancing strip of material, the combination of forming ele-'" ments, means for guiding one of said forming elements to cause the same to reciprocate with relation to the other forming element, means for mounting both of said forming elements in position to oscillate upon a single common center concurrently with the reciprocation of the reciprocating element, a single means for imparting synchronized reciprocating movements to the reciprocating element and concurrently oscillating .both of said elements in unison upon the same center and in a direction approximating the direction of movement of the strip of material at the instant of impact of the forming elements.

4. In mechanism of the class described for recurrently acting upon a continuously advancing strip of material, the combination of forming elements, means for guiding one of said forming elements to'cause the same to reciprocate with relation to the other forming element, means for mounting both of said forming elements in position to oscillate upon a single common center concurrently with the reciprocation of the re ciprocating element, and a crank for imparting synchronized reciprocating movements to the reciprocating element and concurrently oscillating both of said elements in unison upon the same center and in a direction approximating the direction of movement of the strip of material at the instant of impact of the forming elements.

5. In mechanism of the class'described for recurrently acting upon a continuously advancing strip of material, the combination of a frame, a shaft carried by the frame and providedwith a crank, a reciprocating plunger mounted upon the crank and provided with a male forming element, an oscillating arm and a fixed pivotal mounting therefor, a female forming element carried by the oscillating arm in position to coact with the male element of the reciprocating plunger and to act upon the strip of material at the instant of nearest approach and means carried by the oscillating arm for guiding the plunger in its reciprocatory movements toward and from the oscillating arm and for holding the parts inaligned relation to oscillate in unison on the fixed pivotal mounting of said arm upon the same center, the parts being correlated in such a way as to impart to the forming elements at the instant of impact with the -material a forward advance approximating in speed and direction the continuous movement of the strip of material.

6. In mechanism of the class described for recurrently acting upon a continuously advancing strip of material, the combination of a frame, a shaft carried by the frame and provided with a crank, a reciprocating plunger mounted upon the crank and provided with a male forming element, an oscillating arm and a fixed pivotal mounting therefor, a female forming element carried by the oscillating arm in position to coact with the male 'element of the reciprocating plunger and to act upon the strip of material at the instant of nearest approach, a sleeve rigidly secured to the oscillating armand extending outwardly therefrom in position to surround and guide the plunger in its reciprocatory movements toward and from the, oscillating arm and for holding the parts in aligned relation to oscillate in unison on the fixed pivotal mounting of said arm, and said sleeve being apertured to permit the continuous passage of the strip of material therethrough and between the forming elements, the parts being correlated in such a way as to impart to the forming elements at the instant of impact with the material a forward oscillatory advance upon a common center, said advance approximating in speed and direction the continuous movement of the strip of material.

EDWARD H. HALL. 

